Farewell My Queen

Léa Seydoux plays Sidonie Laborde, a lady in waiting to Queen Marie Antoinette. Laborde has a special relationship with the queen, constantly being invited to the Queen’s quarters to read to her, to talk, to sometimes be doted upon. Though she is a commoner, Laborde has access to the comings and goings of the upper class at the Palace of Versailles. She’s observes their lives as they go about their daily routine, as well as their scrambling during the oncoming revolt.

I thought it was an interesting concept, very similar to Downton Abby, that we should see the fall of the French court in 1789 through the eyes of the lower class servants at the palace. We learn about the upper class scandals and love affairs through gossip, hear news of the coming revolt through passing, and see the iconic characters of the era through a less flattering light.

Unfortunately the concept isn’t given that great an execution. The film really just revolves around Sidonie as we see her give up all of her life’s joys or possibilities at joy to devote herself to the Queen. In the grand scheme of things the revolution and everything else seemingly more grand is simply a catalyst to bring us to the consequences of Sidonie’s life choices. Seydoux plays the character pretty bland, occasionally squinting her eyes to show disgust and or anger, but pretty much sleepwalks through the role, which seems blandly written. If the entire film hinges on the life of this one character it seems like the character should have been written a lot better. With nothing to grasp about this character her plight is meaningless, making the remainder of the film a shallow tool for her story.

The costumes and locations are fantastic. Unless you’re running a low budget film why wouldn’t they be though. It’s just a shallow film without much to it other then a boo hoo storyline about an indifferent girl who loved the Queen. As always final judgment is yours.